We’re thrilled to announce that six Tiny News Collective members received funding from the Press Forward coalition of funders from around the country. They were part of an open call for local news providers to close gaps in coverage, which resulted in more than 900 applications.

In the end, Press Forward chose to give $20 million in general operating support grants to 205 newsrooms, including one in every state. “Selected newsrooms are a bright mosaic of independent, non-partisan sources that are reimagining what local news looks like across America,” Press Forward noted. The funding for TNC members is confirmation that the work of diverse startup newsrooms is vital to fertilizing news deserts. 

Here’s a deeper look at the six TNC members who received funding:

Atlantic City Focus; founder and publisher Mark Tyler

Mission: Atlantic City Focus exists to create a safe space where people, whose voices are often overlooked and excluded from media and media ownership, can tell their own stories in their own way. We promote civic engagement and encourage the African American community to share its voice with the world while providing news and information that readers can use to combat social ills that plague Atlantic City and the vicinity and other Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. We also provide an outlet to celebrate African American culture, history and tradition.

When it was founded: 2022

Audience: BIPOC community in Atlantic City, NJ, and the vicinity

Plan for Press Forward funds: Create and deliver community news and work toward sustainability

Austin Vida; editor and publisher Nancy Flores

Mission: Austin Vida empowers our community by amplifying our stories, events and cultura. Latinos make up about 33% of Austin’s population. We are a big part of the community’s rich history, present and future. Our historias should not be ignored. Our journalism focuses on solutions and allows our comunidad, which is underserved and underrepresented in U.S. media, to see ourselves represented in the larger story of Austin. By centering nuestras voces, we aim not only to raise awareness of our diverse experiences but offer a more accurate and holistic representation of our community. We believe our cultura should not be an afterthought. And through our stories, we strive to create a sense of belonging.

When it was founded: Austin Vida began as a music and entertainment magazine from 2009 to 2015. Flores reimagined and relaunched it with a new focus in 2021.

Audience: Latino community in Austin and Central Texas

Plan for Press Forward funds: Capacity building, boosting its internship program, plus launching new revenue streams and community-focused programs

Black Belt News Network; publisher Cindy Fisher

Mission: Serving six counties in the culturally rich but economically impoverished Black Belt region of rural Alabama, Black Belt News Network shares news and information to a large and engaged community in real time on its robust regional news site and social media accounts. The Network also presents news to readers in innovative ways, including via videos on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and in a live weekly newscast.

When it was founded: The Black Belt News Network was founded in March 2023 as an expansion of the Selma Sun print and online news agency covering one underserved county in the Black Belt. The Selma Sun was purchased by a single mom journalist Cindy Fisher in 2018 and revamped to provide robust coverage of news, government, sports and education in Dallas County, Alabama, both online and in print.

Audience: The rural communities of Dallas, Wilcox, Marengo, Perry, Lowndes and Montgomery counties, where a majority of residents are Black and nearly 30% live in poverty

Plan for Press Forward funds: Hire more writers and documenters to cover more aspects of life in the rural communities in our coverage area

Ethiopique; founder Henok Mengistu

Mission: Ethiopique empowers, informs and connects the Amharic-speaking community in the Washington, D.C., metro area with trusted content, providing educational resources, insightful articles and news that enhance lives and inform decisions.

When it was founded: 2022

Audience: The more than 100,000 Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants who live in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV) metropolitan area. The DMV is the home of the largest number of Ethiopian Americans in the United States. The news outlet delivers content primarily in Amharic, one of the official languages of Ethiopia and the most widely spoken and written language in Ethiopia.

Plan for Press Forward funds: These funds will be used to invest in community engagement, equipment and digital infrastructure upgrades and to hire and pay reporters for deeper and broader coverage.

Future Tides; founder and editor Cara Kuhlman

Mission: Future Tides covers how people work, play and live on the Pacific Northwest’s waterways to help the maritime community navigate what’s next.

When it was founded: 2021

Audience: Future Tides serves the maritime community along the waterways and coasts of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Our audience includes commercial mariners, scientists, recreational boaters, fishing families, boat builders, educators and local residents interested in getting on the water.

Plans for Press Forward funds: This funding from Press Forward will be transformative, allowing founder and editor Cara Kuhlman to expand coverage that supports Future Tides' mission to serve the modern maritime community. It will allow her to work with new editorial contributors, accelerate development of Future Tides' tour business, and pursue additional revenue streams.

Project Optimist; founder Nora Hertel

Mission: Project Optimist produces explanatory and solution-focused journalism along with local art to inform and inspire Greater Minnesota communities. We provide training and spur conversations in support of media literacy, community problem solving, community journalism and democracy.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

When it was founded: 2021

Audience: Residents of Greater Minnesota – communities outside the Twin Cities metro area

Plan for Press Forward funds: Funding from Press Forward will allow Project Optimist to develop our operational and financial systems, including the creation of our first strategic plan.

Also, we want to congratulate others connected to the Tiny News Collective community who received grants from Press Forward, including TNC board member Kara Meyberg Guzman (Santa Cruz Local), former board president André Natta (Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism/Birmingham Watch) and TNC alumni member BLCK Press. 🎊